All you want to know about Narendra Modi’s Kolkata Jan Chetna rally

Kolkata, 4 February 2014

Gujarat Chief Minister’s helicopter was granted permission to land at Racecourse ground in Kolkata on eve of his rally . The defense ministry gave permission after reports on denial to permission spread in media. As per pre-decided schedule, Modi will leave Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport and land at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose international airport from where he will take helicopter to reach Racecourse ground. Modi is going to address a grand rally of BJP at Brigade parade ground.

Modi’s three-layer security cover will include NSG and Gujarat police in first layer, Kolkata police in second layer and 1070 party men in third layer. CCTV cameras are installed to keep watch on crowd. A Gujarat police team, led by IG (CID) S S Trivedi is camping in Kolkata. Brigade Parade Grounds was off-limits for Kolkatans from Monday night, almost 40 hours before Modi’s rally. Every person entering the Brigade for the 1 pm rally on Wednesday is expected to be frisked.

According to Economic Times report, the party sold “front row” seats online, and the minimum online price for a seat was Rs 100. Some have even paid Rs 2 lakh for a seat, says ET report quoting sources in BJP, adding that so far, 21,700 online booking were received. People also booked seats using debit and credit cards.

Ahead of the rally, the BJP hosted road shows, runs and walks sporting Modi masks in Kolkata. BJP workers have been distributing specially made ‘NaMo sweets’ in the state.

The BJP’s past record in the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal has been bleak. The party bagged a solitary seat here in 1998 and doubled its tally in the next elections in 1999. In the last elections in 2009, BJP leader Jaswant Singh won Darjeeling seat only due to understanding with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The party has however witnessed more than two-fold increase in the membership of the BJP’s state unit, from three lakh in 2011 to more than seven lakh in 2013, including two lakh in just last six month after announcement on Modi as PM candidate.